Our tips for making the most of duty-free shopping

That last-minute splurge as you head to the departure gate sure is a nice way to get your holiday started. But are you really saving money at the duty-free store?

Here are some things to think about when those beautifully lit aisles of fragrances and the mix-and-match deals on booze beckon.

Go in with a plan

Duty-free shopping has changed a lot over the last couple of years and we don’t have as many options now, as this Newsroom article explains. If you’re flying out of Auckland, Christchurch or Queenstown, and thinking of buying something duty-free, check out Aelia’s website to see what it’ll cost. Then do some searching to see if it’s really a better price than what you’d pay at a store outside the airport.

We can’t see a website to be able to do the same for Wellington’s duty-free store – Duty Free @WLG - so whip your phone out when you’re there to do a quick check.

Look for bulk deals

When it comes to single bottles of alcohol, make sure you’re really getting a better price. I did a quick check of prices and it was a bit of a mixed bag. Some were a lot cheaper than what they sell for in liquor stores, but it also wasn’t hard to find some bottles that were more expensive duty-free.

There are big savings to be made when you use promotional deals. For example, as I write this, a 1L bottle of Canadian Club is selling for $43 at Aelia and $44 at Big Barrel. When you use Aelia’s ‘3 for $95’ deal it brings the price of the bottle down to about $32 a bottle. Be sure to check how much duty free you’re allowed to take into your destination country, though. There are also good bulk deals to be found in the beauty section.

Check if the perfume is sold at a pharmacy

A lot of Aelia’s perfume prices can be beaten by pharmacies outside the airport. I randomly chose five perfumes to compare and easily found four of them selling at Life Pharmacy and Chemist Warehouse for cheaper. Definitely don’t assume you’re getting a good price on fragrance when you’re at duty-free – whip out your phone to do a quick check.

Don’t bother with confectionery

Unless you’re desperate for a last-minute gift or you’ve spotted something fun you can’t get outside the airport, steer clear of the choccies going through duty free. They can cost a lot more than what you’d pay at the supermarket. A block of Whittaker’s Almond Gold was $5.99 at Pak’nSave this week and $11.50 at Aelia. It's not just NZ-made sweets that are more expensive though – Toblerone bars cost $24 at duty-free and are only $8 at The Warehouse as I write this.

Be wary of prices on New Zealand-made products

Duty-free stores stock a lot of New Zealand-made products, but these don’t attract import duty so don’t expect the savings to be as good. We think duty-free stores should be making it clear at the point-of-sale, so travellers don’t assume they’re avoiding paying duty.

Research your tech prices

PB Tech has a small duty-free store at Auckland’s international terminal, so you can shop there or order online to pick up from a collection point. The price differences aren’t huge – you save about $25 on the store’s usual $307 price for Apple Airpods 4 for example. But it can be a good way to get around how Apple sets the same price across all its normal stockists.

There’s also a JB Hi-Fi at Auckland and Christchurch airports, but it’s difficult to plan ahead for these because they don’t display duty-free prices online. You have to use the website’s live chat tool to ask what’s available.

As always, we’d recommend using websites like Price Me and Price Spy to make sure you couldn’t be getting a better price elsewhere.

Check costs in your arrival country

It can be exciting seeing cheaper prices as you’re on your way out of the country. But if you do some research beforehand, you might find you’re better off waiting until you’re overseas to pick up the item you want – or going through another international airport’s duty-free store on your way home.

Consider claiming back the VAT (value-added tax)

Sometimes you can claim back the VAT for goods you’ve purchased overseas when you leave a country. So, it can be cheaper to find a good price in a store while you’re abroad, then do this. Australia’s Tourist Refund Scheme, for example, lets you get the GST you’ve paid on purchases over $300 refunded. It’s a bit of a faff, because you have to find the office in the airport where they process the refunds and also take the items with you in your carry-on luggage, but worth it to get some money back if the credit card has had a thrashing.